The Beauty & The Best
by SSLuna
Summary: Bella is a dim but determined young woman who longs after Edward Cullen. Edward Cullen is a ruthless genius with an IQ of 200 who looks like a god and acts like a jerk. What happens when these two are forced to live together under one roof?
1. Of Love Letters and Heartbreaks

Disclaimer: Twilight does not belong to me, it belong to Stephanie Meyer. Itazura na kiss does not belong to me either, it belongs to Kaoru Tada.

**A/N: Okay, well first of all, I want to thank anyone who is even reading this fic right now. This idea is not completely mine; I might say it's a twilight adaptation type of thing. The other side of this idea comes from the manga _Itazura na kiss_ by Kaoru Tada. For those who have read, or at least know of the manga, I want to give you a heads up; the manga isn't going to be written exactly as it is, there are going to be some things excluded, some things added, etc. On another note I want to say that Bella and Edward are both slightly different. So be ready for some differences! =]**

**REVIEWS ARE LOVE! Leave me some love and I'll work harder to get a new chapter in. =] **

Bella closed her eyes, waiting for Edward's lips to finally meet hers. She had been waiting for ever. It was there….almost there…

And it was a dream.

Bella awoke, startled, as the school bell rang behind her, signaling the end of free period. She quickly gathered her things, making sure she didn't leave anything behind, and ran out of the library. She hurried to her locker, dumping all of her books in and only taking out a couple of notebooks. She headed towards her classroom; Class F.

You see, Bella was never on the bright side of the spectrum. And it never bothered her much, being on the dumb side. Even though her Mother, Renée, had died when she was a little girl, her Dad, Charlie, always did his best to make her happy. And he succeeded. Bella grew up as a happy, but clumsy child who always made friends in the ER and had a smile on her face. Her lack of intelligence never really bothered him either, because even though Bella wasn't a math whiz, she was life smart, and was a mature and loving girl who knew how to succeed in life through her perseverance.

If Bella had one thing she was proud of, it was of her strength. She never, ever gave up. It had always been that way. Ever since she was a little girl, she had never given up on anything. Even if she had to visit the ER a million times, the thought of quitting has never crossed her mind. Only now, that she was in high school, she desperately wished that she was a genius who aced all of her classes. She smiled at the thought of sharing a classroom with Edward Cullen.

Edward was the genius of the school. Edward Cullen had an IQ of 200 and looked like an upscale fashion model. He was famous for his brains. His looks. His everything. There were tons of girls who adored him, but he never noticed any single person. It was as if he was…not human. And maybe that's what drew Bella to Edward so much. He was so confident, so smart, and beautiful. Did it make sense? No. But Bella never gave up, and this wasn't going to be an exception. It never crossed her mind that Edward's coldness towards others _might_ become an issue.

She reached her classroom and sat down with a loud _'plop'_ on her chair, her friends surrounding her immediately.

"What took you so long?" Rose asked, fixing her hair. Her friends were different from Bella. Rose was beautiful, but unlike Bella, she was actually smart. She was in Class B. Bella remembered that the only reason she had met Rose was due to her clumsiness. When they were about 5 years old, Rose moved into town. While in school, she got hurt badly and was crying for her parents. Bella, being to the ER a ton of times, knew exactly what to do in order to make Rose feel better. The two had been friends ever since.

Alice nodded beside Rose. Barely reaching five feet, Alice had a cute factor that made many guys fall for her. Alice was also rich, but she was only in class F because she has already enrolled in fashion design classes, and the rest was pretty useless to her. Alice and Rose were both smart, it was just that they had other things and didn't really want to spend so much time in school. Bella was the only, well, dumb one. Her hobby was Edward Cullen. She never really stalked him or anything, but every waking moment she had, she would spend daydreaming about Edward Cullen. She walked by his locker, wondering if he had received her letter yet.

A couple of weeks ago she decided that it was time to finally fess up and reveal her feelings for Edward. Even though she had been dying because of her nervousness, she couldn't help but feel satisfied with her own courage.

The rest of the day passed without any problems, and by the end of the day, Bella, Rose, and Alice we're heading towards Bella's locker. Bella opened her locker and something fluttered out of it and to the floor—a letter. She scrambled to get it, wondering if Edward had finally replied to her letter. As she reached for it she realized it was her own letter, and she came to the only conclusion that Edward had forwarded her letter without even reading it.

The heartbreak seized her like a bucket of ice cold water, and suddenly, she felt like her usual happiness and warmth had been crushed out of her heart. She looked around, but all she saw were students rushing by her, antsy to get home quickly. She then remembered that she had agreed to have Rose and Alice come over that night to study for a test. They never really studied, but they tended to have fun. Bella pushed aside the ache within her and picked up her things, rushing quickly out of the school and towards the subway station.

Three ours later, she was sitting by Rose, Alice, and an uninvited Jacob Black. Jacob had always had a crush on her since she was younger, and he had followed her like a puppy ever since she got into high school. Now, he seemed to follow her all the time. And even though he seemed like a stalker sometimes, he really was like a puppy—harmless. Jacob smiled at Bella while trying to butter Charlie up by telling him a million things. She couldn't help but laugh inside.

"So, Bella. Did you get a…reply, yet?" Rose hinted, making sure Jacob couldn't quite catch the drift. At the mention of that subject, Bella felt a little sting inside.

I think we should take this to my room," She whispered, guiding Rose and Alice upstairs and half-closing the door behind her.

"Oh, Bella. By the look on your face, I'm guessing it wasn't very good." Alice said, sitting down on the bed and looking at Bella carefully. The rejected girl felt her body sag, all of her energy drained, and her happiness dimmed. Rose and Alice walked over to her and closed her in a hug.

"I found the letter in my locker. It wasn't even open." Bella said sadly, leaning into the support her friends offered.

"Well, then you should try to give it to him again!" Alice suggested, leaning away from Bella and looking at her expectantly.

"You think so?" Bella asked, sniffing a little. She let the idea simmer in her mind for a couple of minutes before gaining confidence in Alice's suggestion. She was Bella Swan. When did she give up? Never! It was time to bring out her unfailing motivation. She would return that letter to Edward Cullen, and she wouldn't stop until he had read it! Alice and Rose sensed her change in mood and smiled along with her.

The next morning, Bella passed Edward's locker several times throughout the day. It wasn't until she sneaked out during lunch that she managed to get the letter inside his locker before anyone saw her.

She strolled back into the cafeteria confidently and smiled and Rose and Alice secretively, her day becoming that much brighter.

While walking out of her last class, Bella headed out to her locker before making her way home. As she was pulling out her biology notebook, a slip of paper fell out of her locker and to the floor. It was her letter. Her heart began to sank until the realized it had been opened.

She reached down to the floor and snatched the letter from the ground, eagerly wanting to know what was inside. Once she opened the letter, her heart began to fill with dread. It was her letter, all right. Edward Cullen had corrected her letter, red lines and corrections staring at her from all over the paper. At the top, there was a big, red _D-. _

She finally had her answer.


	2. Of Tremors and Helping Hands

Disclaimer: Twilight does not belong to me, it belong to Stephanie Meyer. Itazura na kiss does not belong to me either, it belongs to Kaoru Tada.

A/N: Please bear with me when I say that the characters are different. Not many of you might be familiar with a fragile and childish Bella, but you might grow to like her if you give her a chance =]. Remember that Reviews are love!

NOTICE: I will be changing the fic to M instead of T—that's just because of some rather colorful words that will be incorporated as the fic moves on.

So, uh, I wanted to apologize to any of you who got fake new chapter alerts on Sunday. FF was being a little bee-otch after I sat down all day and finished this ultra extra super amazingly looooong chapter and wouldn't let me upload. It's almost 10 pages long!

BTW, did any of you go through the same thing? Don't you hate it when fanfiction spoils the delights of your hard work?

**VERY IMPORTANT**: I have a new story idea, but I don't know if I should put it on FF or just write it independently from Twilight. This is a rough summary:

*Early 1700 hundreds* Edward Cullen follows his father out to India on a business voyage for the British crown. There he meets Bella, Indian Princess and future betrothed to the Crown Prince of India. The attraction between them is undeniable, but so is the impossibility of their romance. Will Edward and Bella fight against the world for their love, or will the responsibilities and dangers of a secret affair beat them out?

It's bound to be very epic, very big, and very sweet. Would anyone be interested in reading it?

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I know this chapter took a lot more than promised, but school has been _brutal_. Oh well—That's what happens when you're a senior IB student...*shrug*

* * *

><p>Bella's feet ached as she walked home. She had been walking for a solid forty-five minutes, and had another good fifteen to go.<p>

She would've cached her bus if it wasn't for that stupid letter. The shock and heartbreak tore through Bella for a good ten minutes in which she sat on the floor with an absent look on her face. By that time, all the buses were long gone, hers included.

It's not like Bella minded walking—she actually preferred walking to calling her dad. Bella shuddered at the thought. Charlie would come, in his cruiser, asking too many questions on why she missed the bus. No, it was better to walk. That way, she would be too tired to think about anything at bedtime. She tried to ignore the little tears that streamed down her face._ It's only a boy. It's only a boy. It's only a boy! _She kept chanting in her head, wishing she never said anything to Edward at all.

Bella was upset with herself. She had had a crush on Edward Cullen for almost three years straight now. She felt embarrassed and ashamed of her attitude. Her friends thought it was cute; a cute school-girl crush on the best guy in school...but Bella was more ashamed than she let on. It's not like she could control it, though. She had tried year after year to will Edward out of her mind...but he was like a giant stone that wouldn't budge from her heart.

Bella thought about going home and smiled. Bella and Charlie had just bought a new house. It wasn't too big or fancy, but it was big enough-and it was brand new. Bella cheered up a little at the thought that she would be seeing her friends later for a little housewarming party they were throwing. It wasn't really a party, just Rose and Alice. But Charlie insisted in calling it a 'party'.

After about 10 more minutes of walking, Bella finally made it to her new house. It was a cozy-sized white house with big windows. Bella put the shiny new key through the door entered the house. It was a _wreck_. There were boxes all over the floor, furniture placed in odd places, and there was a lingering smell of paint all over the house. It wasn't very welcoming, but it would do while Bella and her father got settled.

Dropping her backpack by the door, Bella walked over slowly to one of the kitchen stools and sat down, wincing as a fiery lick of pain ran up her leg. She would be sore for a while...but the pain distracted her a bit. Suddenly, her phone lit up and chirped. She pulled it from the pocket of her jeans and looked at the new text message.

_Call me, NOW. _

_-Alice_

Bella sighed and called Alice, who picked up on the first ring.

"Bella? Bella, are you okay?" Alice asked, sounding a bit panicked.

"I'm fine." Bella replied absentmindedly, trying not to think about what she was really saying.

"I can't believe that Edward Cullen!" Alice ranted. It took a couple of seconds before Bella caught on.

"Wait—what? Alice, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that Edward behaved like a total jerk when he replied to your letter!" Bella's stomach dropped to her knees.

"How do you know that?" Bella asked frantically, clutching at her cell phone. There was silence on the other side of the phone.

"Oh my God, Bella. Didn't you know? It's all over the place...I thought you knew." Bella closed her eyes deeply for a few minutes and tried to ignore the fact that she was now in the school headlines.

"Bella? I'm on my way to your house, okay? See you in a bit." The line suddenly went dead. Bella really wanted to give up. She felt incredibly stupid (more stupid than she already was) for even liking Edward Cullen in the first place.

Bella didn't know what to do. She didn't want to cry...she wouldn't cry. But things had gone horribly bad in a couple of hours. How could they possibly get any worse?

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. Bella shuffled over to the door, looking through the peephole to find Alice and Rose standing in front of the door, Alice's Porsche parked haphazardly across the driveway. Bella opened the door and made her way toward the kitchen, hearing her friends walking in and shutting the door behind them. She settled in the stool she had been sitting in before and turned to look at Rose and Alice expectantly. They both gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry Bella...I thought you knew." Said Alice, looking as sad as Bella felt. Bella shrugged—she couldn't let the sadness get to her.

"I guess I won't have anything to hide now." _I'll just have to face all the rumors_.

"I think it was Jessica and Lauren. They must have seen your letter." Said Rose, flipping her hair over her shoulder and looking every inch the mama bear she was.

"Just forget about it," Whispered Bella, trying to pull herself together and forget that jerk Edward Cullen as fast as possible. "He's not worth it."

"You're right Bella," Said Alice, placing her hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner with a determined look on her face. "Now you can forget all about that _asshole_."

Bella blinked. She's never heard Alice curse so casually. It was actually kinda funny. Cute little Alice with her childish features cursing like a sailor—Bella started laughing, really laughing. Rose and Alice stared at her for a couple of minutes before laughing with her too.

Rose and Alice kept Bella company throughout the evening. Charlie walked through the door shortly after dinner had finished. Alice and Rose decided to stay for dinner and celebrate the completion of the new Swan residence.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Charlie asked about school while Rose and Alice answered all his questions politely. Bella remained quiet and subdued for most of the evening—something which Charlie picked up on but decided not to bring up in front of her friends. After dinner, Charlie offered to clean up the dishes while Bella, Rose, and Alice all went to hang out in Bella's new room.

After what had happened with Edward Cullen, Rose and Alice were at a loss. They wanted Bella to forget about him, but they also wanted to make sure she got everything off her chest. So they settled for helping Bella unpack, working quietly and silently offering their support should Bella change her mind and wanted to talk.

Around an hour after dinner, Bella had most of her boxes emptied out. Her room looked messy, but it would have to do for now. They all sat down by the foot of Bella's bed to munch on some popcorn and drink some soda.

"Hey, what's that noise?" Asked Alice, looking around and cocking her head, as if she was perking up an ear. Bella tried to hear for anything out of the ordinary, and she caught a slight rattle in the distance. She gazed down to look at her drink and froze. Her soda was shaking, nearly spilling out of her glass.

Before she had a chance to point anything out, the house started shaking violently. With a shriek, Bella tried to stand up before she was sent back to the floor by a particularly strong lurch. With unsteady ground, she scampered up unto her legs and threw herself underneath the door frame—Alice and Rosalie doing to same.

"Bella, it's not going to work!" Said Alice fervently, pointing at the wall across the room. She was right. There were multiple cracks in the wall. Some looked like hairline fractures, others were deep—separating the wall completely.

"The house isn't safe, Bella. We have to get out!" Shouted Rosalie, grabbing Bella and Alice by their arms and fighting their way down the stairs as quick as possible. The second they reached to bottom of the stairs, they heard Bella's room collapse, sending a cloud of debris billowing down the stairs. Charlie could be heart shouting in the distance—but they couldn't make out what he was saying.

The three finally made it to the door without tumbling unto the floor, clinging to each other for support. They watched to house lurch violently for a couple of long seconds before it folded in on itself like a house of cards, crumbling to the floor and bursting with chips of construction materials. The cloud lingered over the house for long seconds before floating away into the chilly night air.

"Bella!" It was Charlie. The girls could hear him getting closer, though they couldn't see him through the cloud of debris.

"Dad, I'm over here!" They found each other quickly and were soon embracing each other. Although Charlie was never really emotional, she wouldn't know what to do if she ever lost him. Charlie clung to his daughter before stepping back and doing a once-over, checking for any injuries. Surprisingly she only had a cut on her forehead. It would need stitches, but for Bella, a cut after an earthquake was an achievement. Before they realized what was going on, the area was surrounded by emergency responders. Sirens were ringing everywhere and lights were flashing as far the eye could see.

For Bella, the experience was surreal. She sat on the curb as people ran past her in all directions. Alice and Rose sat next to her quietly, also very shocked. The earthquake had been a nasty experience for everyone. After about an hour or people swarming by the area, Charlie took Bella out of her stupor by calling her out.

"Bella, could you come here?" Bella snapped up to look at Charlie and shuffled over to him, avoiding chunks of wood and plaster in he way. Charlie gently grabbed her by her shoulder and pulled her aside, behind a large pile of debris that had been piled up.

"Dad, what's wrong?" The astonished look on Charlie's face didn't suggest anything good. He took a deep breath and motioned for Bella to look around them.

"Take a look around Bella. _Our house was the only house that collapsed_. The earthquake was only a damn 3.2 tremor! The contractor built the house wrong!" Charlie's face was an uncanny shade of puce. Bella was speechless. Faulty buildings only happened in movies, right? Charlie took Bella silence as an opportunity to continue talking.

"Those lazy-ass constructors were trying to rip us off. They thought no one would notice if they ordered cheap materials but charged us for the expensive ones. Well, we almost died because of their faulty actions. And trust me Bella, they are going to pay for it."

Bella had never seen Charlie so angry. It was actually kind of frightening. After Charlie talked to Bella, he didn't hover much, and instead searched through the rubble to try to find anything useful, but most of their belonging were deep underneath the rubble and wouldn't be recovered until a machine came to do the heavy-lifting. That night Bella slept over at Alice's house while Charlie rented out a motel room. The Brandons were nice, but after what happened, she still felt as if she was in a surreal situation.

The next morning was a little better, until she got to school. Bella had to borrow Alice's uniform, as hers had disappeared with the rest of her belongings. Alice's uniform was a bit too short on her, the skirt several inches above her knees, but she didn't have much of a choice. Alice drove them to school in her Porsche (Bella had to admit, that part of her morning was nice) and they met Rose for first period. So far, so good.

That was until she saw Edward Cullen. Suddenly, the sadness she felt last night came rushing back to her, and so did the bad memories of the quake. Edward Cullen was lingering outside of his classroom with a couple of his buddies from Class B, where Rose was. Bella ran into her classroom and sat in the first seat she found—one that was practically next to the door. Alice sat in the desk next to hers and rubbed her shoulder soothingly, with a concerned look on her face. Not that it mattered, because Edward was completely unfazed by Bella. It was as if he didn't even know her. He joked around with his friends a little longer before the warning bell rang, sending students scurrying into their classrooms.

Bella couldn't help but feel a little deflated. She was looking forward to a look, a sneer, a snide comment, or _anything_, from Edward. But she knew that Edward didn't act rudely in public—after all, he was a role model for school conduct and academic achievement. However, after all she went through, she found she still craved his attention. She should feel angry and disgusted with herself, because Edward Cullen didn't have anything nice to give her—but she still wanted some attention from him. With a sigh, Bella tried to pay attention to the lesson and tried to take notes—although she's probably lose them anyway.

By lunch time, Bella had gotten used to her day. There had been a special of the earthquake on the news, and of course everything focused on Bella's house, so now she was double the talk out in the halls. Everyone looked at her with pity but in a condescending manner. It was driving Bella crazy with irritation.

During free period, Bella had decided that enough was enough. She had agreed to meet with Rosalie and Alice in the library, as the school counselor had pulled her out of class to help her get some stuff "off her chest". After answering all the questions in a mild manner and being deemed sane by the counselor, she set off on her way to the library on the other side of the school.

On her way there, she saw a small group of people gathered together. Wanting to know what all the fuss was about, she made her way closer and froze. There was a giant white sign that read:

_Help Bella Swan_

_Donate Money Today!_

The sign was being held up by none other than Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley. There was no doubt in Bella's mind that they were doing all of this to piss Bella off and to make her look bad. Lucky for Bella, they were too preoccupied babbling to the crowd to notice that Bella had zeroed in on them.

Stalking towards them with a determination she didn't know she possessed, she walked right in front of them and snatched the stupid sign out of their cheesy manicured hands. They had the nerve to pretend looking concerned.

"Bella, dear, what's wrong? We're just trying to help." Lauren asked, reaching an arm around Bella, who shrugged away from them.

"I don't need your help." Bella ground out, looking at them darkly. Jessica suddenly looked over Bella's shoulder and her eyes lit up.

"Edward! Hey Edward, over here!" Bella whipped around to see Edward making his way through his a couple of his friends and felt fer face heat up. She decided on keeping her mouth shut, as speaking in front of Edward would probably make her look dumber than she already was.

"Edward, you should give some money to Bella—after all, you were really mean in that letter you gave her back." Both Jessica and Lauren snorted and started giggling. Other people around them were laughing too. Edward's green eyes eyes settled on Bella and he gave her a once over, his eyes lingering on the exposed flesh near her skirt.

"Oh, _you're_ Bella?" He sounded surprised. Bella tried to act unemotional and nodded stiffly. He stopped looking at Bella and turned to Lauren and Jessica. "I just have to give some money, right? It's all over?" Since the earthquake last night, people thought that Edward had some sort of obligation to Bella. Apparently he was tired of being associated with her. Bella tried to keep the hurt look from her eyes as Jessica and Lauren nodded excitedly.

Edward walked closer towards them his masculine scent invading Bella's nostrils before she had time to think. Digging for his wallet, he produced a plain leather wallet and dug out some money. Suddenly a collective gasp came from everyone around. While everyone had chucked a quarter or two into the bucket at Lauren's feet, Edward had two hundred-dollar bills in his hand. _Two-hundred dollars_! He walked past Bella to the bucket full of coins.

"Wait." Bella stalked over to Edward's tall lean frame and snatched the bills out of the bucket, leaving Lauren and Jessica reaching for the money.

"I can't accept this money, you should take it back." It wasn't in Bella's nature to accept money from others, especially _two hundred dollars_. However, Edward wouldn't take the money back.

"Bella, it would be better for both of us if you did. I hate when people say I'm obligated to you." Apparently he wasn't holding back. "I don't like stupid girls." Bella's jaw almost hit the floor, and so did everyone else. Bella responded in the first form her body could think of—she threw the money in his face.

"You think that just because you're smart, you can go around looking down on other people? Well, you're wrong! It doesn't matter if you're smart..." Bella's voice wavered at the end, full of emotion. "...when you're a monster on the inside." Edward's head snapped back as if he had been slapped in the face, and there was an eery silence in the crowd. Bella turned on her heel and walked back inside the school. Before she could get very far, however, the world started spinning quickly before fading from her altogether.

When Bella woke up, she quickly realized she was in the hospital. _Huh?_ What happened? She took a moment to feel out her sore body and realized she was hooked up to an IV. Carefully standing up, she gently picked up the sac of IV fluids sitting next to her and cradled it to her chest. Years of accidents had thought her how to move around even while hooked up to an IV. She shuffled over to the door and pulled it open carefully, poking her head out into the hallway. Apparently she'd been out for a while, as all the lights in the hospital were out like they usually were in the evening. Looking around carefully, she suddenly saw Charlie near the end of the hall. He was talking to a tall man with light hair and a crisp black suit. Because he was facing Charlie, Bella couldn't see the man's face. After a couple of minutes, Charlie and the man's conversation came to an end and they both shook hands. Charlie noticed Bella staring and shook his head at her, walking over quickly and coming into Bella's room. Now that she looked at him, he looked a bit angry. He helped Bella to her bed before glaring at her.

"What were you thinking, Bella?" Suddenly, Bella's mean confrontation with Edward came to mind. _Oh god_. Did he find out? How?

"What are you talking about, Dad?" Bella asked nervously, cautiously avoiding Charlie's gaze.

"I'm talking about the fact you didn't get that cut on your forehead stitched up. You were getting an infection because it was too deep and it wasn't healing fast enough." Charlie scolded, while Bella breathed a sigh of relief. So that's what it was about. Bella apologized and kissed up to Charlie a little so he could cool off.

"So, who was that guy you were talking to?" Bella asked casually, munching on some chips Charlie had gotten off the vending machine.

"He's a lawyer who offered to help us. I wasn't kidding when I said that contractor was gonna get it. I have every intention of suing every dime off of them and throwing them in jail for a long, long time." Bella thought back to what her Dad said a day ago.

"But I thought we had no money for a lawyer." Charlie shook his head.

"We don't. He offered to help us free of charge. And he also offered to let us stay at his place while we get on our feet. Let me tell you something Bella, this lawyer has a good house with enough room for both of us."

"That was nice of him." Bella said blandly. Charlie smiled and nodded in agreement.

As it turned out, Bella had been discharged shortly and they were soon on their way to the lawyer's home. Bella felt a little weak, but the IV was working its stuff and she was starting to feel better. Bella and Charlie drove for about 20 minutes before they pulled up to a large mansion in the upscale side of town.

"Whoa," Bella breathed, while Charlie jumped out of the car and grabbed a large box with the majority of their recovered possessions. The house was absolutely huge. It was at least three stories high, made in a very sophisticated manner that exposed large panels of glass and beams steel.

Bella slowly scampered out of the car and grabbed the remainder of the things in the trunk, which consisted of her backpack and a small bag with a fresh change of uniform that Alice had lent Bella. Bella heard someone make their way from inside the gates and heard a smooth voice call out to her.

"Need some help?" She smiled and turned to the helpful person, before shrieking and dropping her belongings. It was Edward Cullen. _Edward Freaking Cullen_, wearing a white t-shirt and some gray sweat pants that hung off his hips.

"No way. What are you doing here?" Bella gasped, looking at Edward as if he was a grim reaper coming for her. Edward's eyes narrowed as he collected her stuff from the floor and walked inside the gates.

He looked back at her and finally answered her question.

"This is my house. The lawyer who unfortunately offered to help you happens to be my father. Now, are you going to stand there all day?" He smirked, before turning again and strutting through the walkway that led to his house.

Bella tried hard not to have a panic attack. No. No freaking way. There was no way she was going to be forced to live with the person she had been trying to avoid. But there was no way around it.

_She was living with Edward Cullen_.


	3. Of Knights in Shining Armors

Disclaimer: Twilight does not belong to me, it belong to Stephanie Meyer. Itazura na kiss does not belong to me either, it belongs to Kaoru Tada.

AN: Alright, here it is, folks! Thanks for everyone who has favorite, subscribed, or reviewed this story. It has meant so much to me! This chapter was fun for me to write, so I hope you guys enjoy it too. A huge thanks to SUNFLOWER3759—who has been kind enough to beta for me. Leave me reviews and tell me what you guys think!

After standing outside in shock for what seemed like forever, Bella decided to go inside. Trudging up the steps to the sophisticated home, she came face to face with a beautiful woman who pulled her in for a warm embrace.

"You must be Bella!" She said excitedly. Bella nodded and realized that it was probably who was before her. She had Edward's copper colored hair and green eyes. "I'm sorry to hear what happened to your home, dear." She said, looking at Bella with sympathy and patting her shoulder. Bella shrugged.

"Thank you for taking us in, ."

"Oh, I don't want any of that nonsense! Call me Esme." Bella smiled then. Esme appeared to be _really_ nice. She liked her immediately.

"Now, Bella, I want you to meet my husband Carlisle—" Carlisle came forward and gently shook hands with Bella. "—and my son, Edward." Esme pointed to Edward who was standing by the fireplace, staring. He made no move and said nothing, while Esme just rolled her eyes and ignored him in response.

"I take it you two go to the same school?" Bella nodded while Edward stared into the fireplace distractedly.

"Great! You and Edward could to school together in the mornings from now on." Bella's head snapped over to where Edward was now standing with a horrified look on his face. Esme stared at him and dared him to challenge her. Apparently Esme won, because Edward rolled his eyes and stalked out of the room with an annoyed huff.

Now that Edward's overwhelming presence was gone from the room, Bella had a real opportunity to take in her surroundings. It was absolutely stunning. The living room consisted of light colored furniture and fixtures, with a large fireplace in the center. The mantle was adorned with dozens of family photos. Bella looked over them and smiled. Apparently Edward was as handsome as a boy as he was a teenager.

"Bella, dinner is going to be served soon. Would you like to get settled in your room before eating?" After passing out at school earlier, the thought of relaxing was starting to sound very tempting. She nodded her head in agreement and followed Esme up the large, wide staircase to the upper floors.

As it turned out, Bella had been right—there were three stories. Her amazement of the house only grew as Esme gave her a short tour of the home.

"Now, here on the second floor we have the study and library, as well as mine and Carlisle's bedroom, and your father's room." Esme continued to point out photos on the walls as the two climbed up to the third floor.

"On the third floor is your bedroom and Edward's bedroom. There is only one bathroom, so I'm afraid you and Edward are going to have to share." She was sharing a floor with Edward? _Great, things were just getting better and better, _Bella thought sarcastically_._ As soon as one walked into the third floor, you could tell that it was made for a guy. The walls leading up to the bedrooms were painted a dark blue and the furniture in the sitting area between the bedrooms was made in rich mahogany shades of wood.

"Edward's bedroom is there," Esme said, pointing to a door on the right. "And your bedroom will be there." She finished, pointing to the door on the far left. She led Bella to the door and opened it slowly; leading Bella inside what was probably the most beautiful room she had ever seen.

"Do you like it? I didn't know what your style really was so I had to go with my own feeling." She murmured nervously. Bella was speechless. The room, unlike the masculine style of the floor, was painted in a light pink color. There was a large four-poster bed made of white wood and covered with light white curtains in the far side of the room. All the other furniture in the bedroom was made in a shiny white color that gave off a very dainty feel. The covers on her bed consisted of a large floral blanket in different shades of pink and orange. She loved it.

"It's beautiful." Bella whispered, too breathless to say anything else. Esme looked at Bella's stunned face and beamed in satisfaction.

"I knew you were going to love it!" She said, hugging Bella gently and smiling at her. After giving Bella a quick tour of her bedroom Esme excused herself and left Bella alone to relax before dinner. Bella stared at the comfy bed and flopped down on it, snuggling into the comforters. She couldn't believe what had happened in such a short amount of time. Not only was she now living in Edward Cullen's house, but she was only one wall away from him. Shaking her head, Bella stowed the thoughts of Edward away and started unpacking the small bag she brought.

About fifteen minutes later, Esme's voice carried through the stairs, calling everyone down for dinner. Dinner was very quiet, other than the occasional praise for Esme's cooking skills—no one could deny that the food was delicious. That night Bella excused herself from dinner early in order to shower quickly—she didn't want any more confrontations with Edward today. The rest of the night went off without a hitch, and Bella went to bed after a long session of _attempted_ studying.

Bella's morning had been horrible. To start off, she woke up fifteen minutes late, barely having time to get dressed. Edward, of course, tried his best to ignore Bella…not that it worked very well.  
>"Hey! Hurry out of the damn bathroom already! I need to wash my face!" Edward shouted, banging on the thick wooden door. He started banging on the door louder with each second. The door suddenly swung open and Edward opened his mouth to complain when he got a glassful of cold water in face. Sputtering, he saw Bella looking up at him with a thick terrycloth robe and a towel over her hair.<p>

"Is your face clean enough _now_?" She asked, fuming. Edward's stared at her for a couple of long seconds, and Bella could swear she saw one of his eyes twitch.

"_Oh, you're going to get it!_" He shouted, hurling himself towards her. She squealed and ran out of his path, cackling as she went. She finally got back at him for giving her a bad time—and she could not be any happier. Edward deserved what he got after being so rude to her. He chased her around a large brown lounge chair for a few seconds before—

"Edward?" A few moments later Esme appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing an apron. Edward's predator-like stance suddenly relaxed and Bella took a relieved breath. Esme took in the situation and her graceful face darkened.

"Edward, what on earth were you doing? Chasing around our guests?" Edward opened his mouth to clarify something, but Esme cut him off before he could say anything.

"Edward, I thought I raised you better than that. Bella and her father have been through a very, very tough time—and you need to be more hospitable." She finished, giving Edward a warning look. Edward sighed and picked up a towel he had dropped while chasing Bella around, striding over to the bathroom and slamming the door behind him. A couple of quiet seconds later the shower faucet turned on, breaking the awkward silence.

Bella was seriously worried about Esme's reaction. What if she got mad? To Bella's extreme surprise, however, Esme started chuckling. Her beautiful face light up again and Bella briefly wondered if she was bipolar. Esme saw Bella's quizzical face and smiled at her.

"I've never seen Edward like this. It's fun to scold him around." She giggled.

"…Edward doesn't get _scolded_?" Asked Bella incredulously. That was impossible. Everyone made mistakes, right? Esme shook her head.

"Not really. Edward's a mature person—he gets good grades, understands us as parents, and he listens to what we tell him. He's the perfect son…I suppose." She glanced at my surprised face.

"I've always wanted to feel more like a mom. Edward is so smart that sometimes I feel as if he's the adult. He's always been like that." She sighed, and then looked at Bella thoughtfully.

"Bella, I know you've been through a lot, but I would like you to know that I already see you as a daughter. I'm glad you can stand up to Edward, because believe me—I know how intimidating he could be. I want you to be completely comfortable around here." said Esme, holding Bella close and giving her a hug. Bella hugged her back and smiled. Esme was a wonderful woman, and it was an honor for Bella to get treated in such a way. A couple of seconds later she was shooed off to get dressed by a flustered Esme, who worried about her being late to school.

Breakfast was quick, to say the least. According to Edward (who had somehow dressed at supersonic speeds) she only had 5 minutes to eat. Although she was slightly nervous to eat in front of Edward, Bella gave in to Esme's delicious pancakes and scarfed them down greedily. Meanwhile, Edward spent half of his time staring at Bella's eating manners in a combination of contempt, amusement, and disgust. They hurried out of the gates and Bella trailed after Edward for a couple of minutes before he whirled around to face her with a serious look on his face.

"If you want us to survive each other, there are going to have to be some ground rules." He stated, towering over Bella, who was now arching an eyebrow.

"Rule number one—" He started, holding up a long finger in her face. "At school, you don't know me. Don't talk to me or about me. Hell, don't even _think _about me." Edward smiled crookedly while Bella began to scowl.

"Rule number two—stay out of my way at home. Just because we're living together doesn't mean we're friends." He shuddered. Bella rolled her eyes to the heavens.

"And last—please, _please_ learn how to eat in front of others. That thing you did in breakfast was absolutely repulsing." He finished, turning around and strolling away.

Bella felt her face heat up while Edward walked away from her. She knew that it was better to ignore him, but she couldn't help it—he always got the best of her. Edward stopped walking abruptly and looked around some shrubbery in the distance before he turned to face Bella again.

"It's better if you walk in front of me. You're too short and walk too slow." He waited a bit before he noticed Bella hadn't moved. "I don't have all day, you know." He huffed, tapping his foot against the sidewalk impatiently.

Bella clenched her fists and whizzed by him—the anger fueling her ground-breaking strides. She continued to walk like that until she couldn't feel her legs anymore. Soon the two reached the bus stop and began waiting. The stop had a crooked wooden bench that looked dangerously wobbly. After about 5 minutes of an awkward silence, an old public bus rolled by, stopping between the two of them and kicking up a storm of dirt as its doors opened. Bella climbed in after Edward and settled down in the nearest available area, while Edward stood as far away from Bella as physically possible.

The bus ride was uncomfortable to say the least. Bella had to stand for the ride while the bus lurched violently and rattled at each turn. Edward smirked at her from his seat, where he was comfortably surrounded by some friends who had saved him a seat. They got off at school and went their separate ways without even looking at each other, exactly as Edward had requested.

Bella had been fuming all morning long. She couldn't _stand_ Edward Cullen. That jerk. Rose and Alice had been very supportive of everything that happened, but Bella decided to hold back on the fact she was not living with the Cullens. She really didn't want them to make a big deal. Bella spend most of her day shuffling by quietly after her friends—she really wasn't up for anything.

"Damn!" shouted Rose, setting her stuff down on the lunch table. "I forgot we had midterm classes today." Every year before the midterms, students and teachers alike stayed in school late after hours to review and study up for the exam. Bella, with the nasty grades she had, didn't have much of a choice but to remain at school for the reviews. Alice backed out, stating she had some important designs to finish.

With the additional classes, the end of the school day suddenly became the beginning. This morning Edward's antics had seriously worn Bella out emotionally, leaving her exhausted and sleepy. She couldn't wait until the midterm classes were over and she could go home.

During her bathroom break, Bella suddenly walked into a quickly moving figure.

"Can't you watch where you're going?" The voice hissed. Bella didn't need any more indication to recognize Edward. She stepped back from him to find him with messier-than-usual hair and a half-unbuttoned oxford uniform shirt with the school emblem. He looked exhausted. Apparently midterm classes had gotten to him too, although he didn't need it.

"Why are you here?" blurted Bella suddenly. It honestly didn't make sense to her how the school genius would stay hours afterschool to study something he already knew inside-out. He narrowed his eyes at her before answering.

"I was tutoring." He admitted reluctantly. Bella suddenly noticed the backpack on his shoulder and the school blazer dangling from his arm.

"You're leaving?" He nodded wearily. Bella suddenly looked concerned.

"Can you wait for me?" Edward was about to protest before Bella continued, "I don't remember my way back to your house." Edward stared at her incredulously before sneering at her.

"That was why I showed you the way this morning. Did you honestly think I would walk to school with you?" He taunted, shaking his head in disapproval.

"If you don't remember, that's too bad. Call my mom later and ask her for directions." Bella gaped at Edward in shock. He was mean, but this was taking it to a whole new level. Bella tried not to look dejected while Edward strolled past her towards the nearest exit. As he was walking away, he suddenly stopped and turned around, tossing a bundle of cash at Bella's feet.

"My mom meant to give you that this morning. Take a cab back to my house later." He finished, sliding on his blazer and hurrying out of the door. Bella plucked the money from the floor and counted it. There were fifty dollars. Seriously, what was it with these Cullens and giving away irrational amounts of money? Bella shook her head and disapproval and pocketed the money, rushing back to her classroom in order to finish all her work and go home.

Bella's teacher finally released at nearly six thirty, and Bella was worried she'd miss dinner. Not only would it leave a bad impression, but it was seriously disappointing to miss Esme's delicious food. Rushing out of the school, Bella tried to remember the address back to the Cullen home before whipping out her phone to call a taxi. Shivering in the January chill, she was suddenly filled with dread as she noticed her phone was dead. Completely and utterly worn out—Bella didn't even bother to coax it to turn on. She wondered if Rose had already left. Since Rosalie was in a different classroom than Bella, they didn't really keep in touch. Wandering over to the parking lot, Bella scanned the handful of cars and came to the realization that Rose was long gone. Bella decided not waste anymore daylight—she would need to walk her way back.

The sunset soon faded into a deep darkness, and it was growing colder by the second. Bella tried to keep warm by walking quickly. Eventually, she reached Edward's neighborhood before she realized that she had no idea which particular street the house was on. Spotting a payphone, she ran over to it excitedly, ripping it off its cord and stuffing her hand in her pocket for some cash. She waited for a couple of seconds before noticing there was no sound on the other side. The phone was broken.

Slamming the phone down and shouting in frustration, Bella hauled her backpack over her shoulder once again before she noticed a figure standing behind her.

"Need some help?" asked the stranger. Bella stared at the figure for a long minute, not sure of what to do. The guy before her couldn't have been any older than she. He had short blonde hair and steely blue eyes. Bella shivered even more while looking at them. He was wearing the uniform of a neighboring school; the blazer seeming to outline his wiry form like it was a couple sizes too small. Under normal circumstances, Bella would have been thrilled to meet someone her age who was willing to help her, but the person present before her made her very uneasy.

"I'm looking for the Cullens. Do you know where they live?" she asked shyly. The stranger smiled predatorily.

"Looking for the Cullens, eh? Well, I feel like a little payment might be in order before I confess anything." He taunted, approaching Bella carefully as one would approach a skittish animal. Bella took some steps back before backing into the payphone. The stranger smirked at her before striding closer, waving his arms out to keep Bella from running away.

"What do you say, sweetheart? A don't charge much." He joked, getting in Bella's face while her stomach did repulsed somersaults. She stared at him fearfully and wondered how far she would get if she ran for it. As she began to lunge away, a hand reached out and yanked her away from the stranger.

Bella clutched on to the person who'd just saved her. Glancing up, she recognized her savior—it was Edward. Bella tried her best not to snuggle into the warmth at the crook of his neck, but Edward's warmth and masculine scent were doing strange things to her. So was the dark look Edward was giving the stranger. The somersaults in her stomach suddenly burst into fluttering butterflies, the fear long gone, chased away by Edward's arms—which he had absentmindedly wrapped around Bella's waist when she first threw herself at him.

"Riley." Edward nodded tersely, while Riley smiled cruelly in response.

"Edward. Is this your new _girlfriend_?" He asked, sneering and motioning towards Bella. Edward suddenly looked down at her and pushed Bella away, the chill engulfing her instantly and freezing her to the bone.

"No. She's a guest at our place." Bella tried to regain her footing while looking trying not to look like a total idiot.

"Well, you should make sure she doesn't wander around here in the night…bad things can happen." He winked. Bella tried her best not to barf as she cowered behind Edward tall frame. He decided to ignore Riley's last comment, strolling past him into the next street. Bella stumbled after him for a couple of minutes before he whirled around and faced her, looking furious. Bella stopped short and looked at him cautiously.

"Why didn't you take a cab?" He asked, glaring at her. Bella cowered in her coat before answering.

"My phone died." She whispered.

"Is that why you didn't call home?" Bella nodded. Edward sighed and ran his hand over his hair, fidgeting with his gray pea coat before turning around and walking back home.

Bella followed him silently through a couple of blocks before coming upon the Cullen home. She felt like hitting herself. It was so close—the house was barely four blocks away from where she first ran into Riley.

As soon as she walked through the door, Esme ran from the kitchen and hugged her.

"Bella, I was so worried about you!" Bella tried to apologize while Esme held Bella's face.

"My, you're freezing! Come with me to the kitchen, I'll make you some tea." Bella saw Edward roll his eyes from the coat rack where he was putting his things away. Esme dragged Bella into the kitchen and ordered Edward to find a warm blanket while he sighed and murmured something under his breath. A few moments later Edward emerged with a warm blanket…which he tossed in Bella's face. Bella caught it and glared at him, unfurling it and draping it across her shoulders. Esme returned with the tea and settled it down on the table before walking away, trying not to coddle Bella.

While Esme was washing some dishes, Bella pulled out the fifty dollars for the cab that she never managed to use.

"Esme, I couldn't call the cab—you should take your money back." Esme was too distracted to the dishes because she didn't pay her much attention.

"What money?" She asked, turning off the faucet and turning to look at her. Bella stared at her for what seemed like forever, waiting to see if Esme would finally remember. But she continued to look completely clueless. It suddenly hit Bella; Esme hadn't given her the money for the cab—it had been Edward. She smirked, snatching the money off the table and waving Esme off. Bella strutted to where Edward sat in the living room reading a large volume. He glanced up at her and ignored her, his eyes falling back to the book in his hands. Bella took this opportunity to give him back his money—by throwing it in his face. Edward snapped to look at her and glared, snatching up the money brusquely.

"Thanks for the money." Bella said, plopping down on the sofa next to him. He set his book down and rolled his eyes.

"How many times to I have to tell you that it was from my mom?" He asked, annoyed. Bella shook her head and clucked her tongue.

"Stop lying, Edward, I know the money was from you." He opened his mouth to protest but came up short. Bella smirked.

"Well, well, look who's speechless now." She said, getting up from the sofa and sashaying away with a Cheshire cat grin on her face while Edward looked after her, shocked.


	4. Of Old Photos and Desperate Agreements

Disclaimer: Twilight does not belong to me, it belong to Stephanie Meyer. Itazura na kiss does not belong to me either, it belongs to Kaoru Tada.

I'm back everyone! And I'm a high school graduate! yayyy =] This chapter has been in the works for a while. Enjoy and review please =D

* * *

><p>Bella spent the rest of the evening listening to Esme scold Edward for leaving her stranded at school. Apparently something that Bella blurted while she was eating her dinner had set Esme off.<p>

"Edward, what is wrong with you? I get that you 'don't like' Bella" She quoted bitterly, using her fingers to accentuate the quotation marks. "But that isn't any excuse for leaving her back at school, on a cold evening, all by herself!" I avoided Edward's glare from the dining room, where I was sitting all by myself eating my heated dinner. The arch that connected the pristine dining room with the cozy kitchen suddenly looked smaller as Esme towered over Edward, who was sitting on the sofa, presently pretending to watch TV.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it was out there for her? For you, there is no such thing as a threat. You always manage to figure things out-and you're a man, you can...actually defend yourself. But it's different for a girl, you know. I raised you up to be a gentleman, and I can tell you that abandoning a girl like that, even if you don't like her, is completely ungentlemanly." She finished, huffing and sitting down next to Carlisle on the loveseat across from Edward. Carlisle gave a stern nod, but even I could see from the kitchen that he had been staring at the football game on TV the whole time.

"Sorry, Mom." Edward gritted. Esme stared at him in disbelief.

"Don't apologize to me, Edward. It's Bella who deserves the apology." Edward huffed as he exited the living room, sneering at me as our eyes locked together.

So much for an apology.

*5 Weeks Later*

I glanced down at my homework impatiently, silently willing it to complete itself. Gazing at the wall in front of my desk, I resented Edward a little more. He managed to do all of his AP crap homework within an hour, and was always in bed by 9:00. Pathetic, right? Cause someone that's so smart should actually pull all-nighters perfecting that stupid homework. But nope, not Edward.

Living with Edward Cullen has been rather uneventful these past few weeks. He's avoided me like the Bubonic Plague, and then some. I see more of him at school than I do at home. To say that my little crush was crushed was an understatement. I didn't like him at all...okay fine, maybe a _little_. But that's only because of his good looks. As long as he kept acting like I was some sort of vermin, Edward Cullen was off my radar. I sighed at my desk, annoyed with my homework. The digital clock on by bedside table read 11:13. I closed my eyes and breathed evenly, trying to regain some energy to finish all this work. A soft knock at my door interrupted me. I quickly dismissed the thrill of the idea that it was Edward. No, he wouldn't approach me if he was dying.

"Come in," The dainty doorknob turned and in walked Esme, donning a bathrobe over some long pyjamas and holding a silver tray.

"Are you still working on that homework?" I turned from my desk and nodded at Esme, who was looking at me with concern.

"I brought some snacks," She said softly, holding the silver tray up and placing it on my desk.

"Thank you, Esme." I smiled, picking up a cracker and sipping on some milk.

Esme nodded in response and held up a thick pink binder, which upon closer inspection turned out to be a photo album.

"Are you up for taking a break?" Asked Esme, settling down on my bed across from me. I nodded longingly and sat beside her, eager to see some cute baby pictures. Unsurprisingly, Edward was an adorable baby. His messy copper hair hadn't changed a bit, and his green eyes had been twice as big as they are now. His square and lean jaw had been replaced by cute chubby cheeks. We suddenly came across a photo and I had to fight to remain quiet.

"Esme, who is that?" In the photo I was pointing to, there was a child who oddly resembled Edward, dressed up in a Belle costume and holding up little dolls.

"That was Edward on Halloween." My head snapped to her so quick I thought it was going to break, but I found nothing more than complete sincerity on her face. She took in my surprised face and continued to explain the tale behind the picture.

"In those times, Edward had been fascinated with dolls. He liked to control their lives like a little puppetmaster. One day he watched the Beauty and the Beast with his cousin and well, it kinda stuck on him from there. He insisted as being a princess because it was Halloween and he had the right to be whatever he wanted to be." She remembered, sighing wistfully.

"Edward looked so hopeful about the idea I could hardly deny him." She finished. I took a second look at the photo this time.

"He actually looks happy in this picture." I remarked, noticing the joyful smile that had threatened to break his face in two. Esme smiled and nodded in agreement.

"When Edward got older, he told me to burn all the Halloween pictures from that year. I burned all but this one. He looked happier than I'd ever seen him, so I couldn't bring myself my get rid of it."_ Is she telling me Edward is a closet cross-dresser?_ I avoided her gaze and looked at the interesting weaving of the rug underneath our feet. Esme took my silence as her cue to leave, hastily taking the tray with her and shutting the door behind her.

Trudging back unwillingly to my desk, I mentally debated which assignments I could realistically deal with at the moment. I tried my best on my work and went to bed in a crappy mood at nearly 1AM, having a feeling that most of the homework was going to be wrong anyway.

The next morning I woke up almost half an hour late. It's funny how quickly someone wakes up once they realize they overslept. My exhaustion soon transformed to puzzled energy as I ran around my room like a crazy chicken trying to get dressed. Then I realized I had to shower.

Needless to say, I was almost dragged out of the bathroom by a livid Edward. I stomped around my room angrily, grabbing my bag and hoisting over my shoulder. On my way out, I noticed a pink binder sitting on the corner of my desk. I halted and reached for it, snagging up a picture. Grinning out of the room, I tucked the photo into my bag and strutted down the stairs. _Edward had no idea what he was in for. _

By the time I had finished breakfast Edward already left for the bus stop. I had no choice but run out of the house towards the stop at full speed. I got there with seconds to spare and ended up having to stand among other morning commuters. Edward, meanwhile, sat in the back comfortably. I couldn't help but feel envious as I was jostled on the bus and had to steady my footing.

School was stressful to say the least. I barely had time to finish last night's homework, and it turned out there was an assignment due today-one that I didn't even_ remember_ of!

"Bella, that's due next period." Alice said worriedly, chewing on the end of her pencil as I scribbled away with mine. Luck was on my side today, because I managed to finish the blasted paper with a few minutes to spare. It wasn't promising, but it was something. I handed in my paper and sat by Rose and Alice, who were having a heated discussion about make-up labels. stood from his desk and shushed the class impatiently.

"Due to an unexpected meeting tomorrow, this week's syllabus was thrown off schedule. Therefore, today you are going to have a study hall. A _silent_ study hall." He added warningly, looking at our gleeful expressions. With that, he turned back to his desk and continued shifting through the homework we had just handed in. I swung back on my desk to find Alice and Rose continuing their argument in a whisper-fight, completely oblivious to me presence.

_"Swan_." With that single word, all chatting in the room died instantly. Rose and Alice were pulled from their little world and were now staring over my head with a comical expression. I turned to face the left side of the room where the door was and felt my face drop. I could have sworn my jaw was grazing the smooth tiled floor, and my eyes were widened so much they were actually drying up.

At the foot of the door stood a distasteful Edward, holding a brown lunch bag and looking around unpleasantly.

"Outside. Bring your lunch." He barked as soon as he met my eyes, turned on his heel, and walked out into the hallway. waved me away absentmindedly, and I tip-toed into the hallway fearfully, clutching on to my brown lunch bag. Edward sneered as soon as he saw me.

"Esme switched out lunches." He said dryly. I peeked inside and found nearly double what I would usually eat. _Did Edward really eat all that_?

He must have noticed my shocked expression as I looked at the contents of the bag, because he plucked it out of my hands and tossed me the one he was holding. I managed to catch it, but not without fumbling a few times. Edward smirked at my clumsiness and shook his head.

"I'll talk to her so she won't do it again." He reassured, but to me it sounded like he was just trying to convince himself. Suddenly an idea came to mind.

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to get confused and end up, say, with my clothes next time." I muttered under my breath. Edward's eyes flashed with something I couldn't really recognize.

"What did you say?" He asked, coming closer to me. I almost lost my train of thought once I got a whiff of his cologne. _Almost. _

"I_ said_, you wouldn't want to wear my uniform next time." I repeated, drawing out each syllable loudly.

"I'm a guy." He said, looking at me as if I was retarded. "I don't wear girl clothes."

"Oh,_ really_? Because that's not the feeling I got from this!" I accused, whipping out Edward's Halloween photo from last night. His eyes flashed and I finally understood what it was-_panic_. He stared at the photo motionlessly for a couple of seconds before his eyes snapped to my face, horrified.

"Where did you get that?" He pulled at his copper locks desperately.

"Does it matter?" He obviously wasn't going to answer my rhetorical question. "The point is that I have it now." He continued to stare at me before snatching for the picture.

"Uh-uh, I don't think so." I said, leaping out of the way neatly. For _once_.

"Give me that!" He exclaimed, losing his exterior and reaching for it desperately. I stepped out of the way once again and started running away from him at top speed, cackling madly.

I knew running wasn't going to get me far. Soon Edward's long legs caught up to mine and one of his long arms locked around my waist, drawing me to him.

"Give me the picture." He breathed in my ear quietly, threateningly. Between the arm around my waist, the lean body pressed up behind me, and the warm air whispered near my ear, I was a wreck. I felt my hold on the photo slipping, but then I remembered what this picture meant. It meant power. Power over a jerk who had bully tendencies. My hold strengthened and I tried to wriggle out of his grasp. It took a whole lot of wriggling, but I finally managed to get loose for just a second. It was all I needed to take off once more.

Edward caught up in a matter of seconds. He was fast. Instead of grabbing me by the waist, he clutched my shoulder and whipped me around to face him. His hand came around to wrap around mines forcefully and pushed me back until he had me pinned on the wall with my hands above my head. Edward glanced at my face and looked uncertain, surprised. It didn't last long, because his face soon transformed into a mask that meant business.

"Give. It." He said, so close to my face I could almost feel his breath. His smoldering green eyes were darker and his breaths were coming out in tired gasps.

"No." I said stubbornly, clutching on to the picture with all the strength I could muster. My efforts were no use. Because my hands were pinned above my head, Edward managed to pry the picture out of my hands rather quickly.

_"Aha_!" He said gleefully, quickly tucking the picture away in his blazer. He glanced back at me vengefully. "It seems like you didn't quite get the picture." He teased.

"No," I said evenly, meeting his smirking face. "But I still have the negatives." I said, remembering the little dark strips tucked in the back of the photo album back in my bedroom. Edward's smirk fell off his face and pranced over to mine. He took a long even breath, and his shoulders dropped fractionally.

"What do you want?" He asked darkly, shooting daggers at me. He was probably counting to ten in his head...very, very slowly. I thought about his question. I knew I had to pick something quick, because he would hunt down those negatives night and day. And if he found them...

"I want you to be my tutor." He snapped his head to look at me. "You need to get me into the top fifty." For Midterms and Finals, the school posted the top fifty scores of the school. Edward was always number one. But I was determined to make it.

"I'm a not a God, Bella." He pleaded, his dark eyes smoldering above me. "It's going to take a miracle to get you into the top Fifty.

"You know, developing negatives is getting really cheap nowadays." I hinted, shrugging my shoulders.

"Alright. I'll do it." He snapped. I refrained from squealing and clapping my hands, settling for smiling hugely because I had a feeling he was about to throttle me.

"We start tonight at six. Be prepared. If you waste my time I won't resort to tutoring you again-negatives or no negatives." With that, he turned around and stalked away gracefully, headed towards his next class.

It seems there might be some hope for my grades after all.


	5. Of Weary Tutors and Well-Wishers

Disclaimer: Twilight does not belong to me, it belong to Stephenie Meyer. Itazura na kiss does not belong to me either, it belongs to Kaoru Tada.

Hello everyone! It's been a while, but here is another chapter. It's a bit short, but I rather like it. Tell me what you think! I should be uploading a new chapter soon. Please review! =]

BPOV

Dinner that evening had been pretty easy-going. Esme made a delicious dish of spaghetti, that's for sure.

"So Bella, are you going to study tonight?" Esme asked, setting her fork down and looking at me expectantly. I nodded in response.

"Is there anything you would like me to make you for your snack?" I thought for a moment.

"No, anything you make is fine." I answered, grinning at her. Suddenly Edward cleared his throat.

"Make that two snacks. I'm going to be in her room." All of the chatter and clinking in the table came to a stop. Esme looked at Edward with wide eyes and a surprised look on her face. Edward's ears burned red as he realized what he'd just said.

"He's studying too." I piped in quickly, trying to avoid Charlie, who was looking like he was about to pop a vein.

"Oh." Esme said flatly, looking at Edward curiously. "You're studying?" The small smile on her face was hard to miss.

"Yes." Edward grumbled, shoving a forkful of spaghetti in his mouth. I made him agree not to get mad at Esme about the picture thing. I looked at Edward in amusement as he continued to shove food into his mouth anxiously. And he talked about _my_ eating habits...

Edward dragged his chair over to the opposite side of my desk, sitting down and shuffling some blank pieces of paper. After checking that his pen was working, he looked up at me.

"What subject do you want to begin with?" He asked clinically. I swallowed hard and picked up the first book I snatched from my back pack. Looking down at it, I answered his question.

"Is, uh, math okay?" He sighed at my frazzled state and nodded wearily, combing his long fingers through his hair.

"So what do you need help with?" I thought about his question hard. I think the better question in this situation was what _did_ I know? I needed help with everything...but I couldn't tell him that.

Edward huffed at my indecision and snatched a blank paper from the pile he had neatly created a couple of minutes ago. His pale hand began racing from one extreme of the paper to the other as he scribbled down numbers.

"A test?!" I asked him in disbelief as he shoved the paper in my direction. _He__hadn__'__t__even__taught__me__anything__yet__!_

"It's an aptitude test." He said simply, looking at me expectantly. He recognized my puzzled look and rolled his eyes at me, annoyed.

"It's a test to find out what you need to work on." I slowly looked at the paper he had given me. These questions were more puzzling than the ones my teacher usually gave me. The first question looked familiar enough, so I decided to give it a try.

I chewed on the end of my pen as I debated different ways to solve the question. Only one was right, but I couldn't quite remember what it was. I went with the one that made the most sense and scribble an answer down on the paper.

"Are you done?" Edward asked, pulling his face out of the book he was reading and plucking the paper from my hands before I could even protest. He stared at the paper for a long time while I fiddled my thumbs nervously.

A loud bang resonated through the room and my head snapped up instantly. Edward looked at me with a glare that was beyond furious, and his face had turned a rather pinkish color.

"Are you kidding me right now?!" He almost shouted, slamming the paper on the desk in front of me. I flinched and looked at him from underneath my lashes.

"What did I do wrong?" I squeaked, trying to appease him.

"This question is from Freshman year! You're telling me you don't even know this?!" I looked at him fearfully and shrugged, my face burning up.

Edward was right. I had no hope of getting into the top Fifty. I bit my lip nervously, pretending Edward wasn't furious at me. I heard him take a deep breath and snatched the math book in front of me.

"Alright," He said, flipping through some pages before setting the book in front of me. "Let's start teaching you some math."

At first everything he said faded away, and all the problems he presented me with muddled together as I looked at his bright green eyes and copper hair closely. Edward spent hours going over what was deemed as 'the basics' for the midterm. Somewhere along the line I got over my intimidation of him and was able actually learn from him. I shooed him to his room after he yawned three times in less than two minutes. He stumbled out of my room muttering something about his bedtime. I snatched my bathrobe from the foot of my bed and washed up, getting ready for bed. My eyes closed as soon as they touched the cool pillow below me.

I walked through the doorway of my classroom the next morning with a newfound confidence. Math suddenly started making much more sense than it did in the past years. I finished all of the practice problems and even had extra time to work on the study guide Edward made for me. I looked next to me only to find Alice and Rosalie staring at me intently.

"What?" I asked, quickly closing the study guide Edward gave me. If they looked at it they would quickly notice the clinical scrawl looks nothing like my neat handwriting. Rosalie begins speaking first.

"So would you mind explaining what the hell happened with Edward yesterday?" She asked, picking her nails and looking up at me. After they witnessed what happened yesterday they've been hounding me for information ever since. Apparently they have still not forgotten a thing.

"Wh-what are you talking about? Nothing happened." I stuttered, pretending to be busy by going to my backpack and avoiding their gazes.

"Yeah, right. Bella Swan, I swear to God, if you don't tell us-"

"I already said, _nothing__happened_." I nearly shouted, trying to get them to believe me. I know the last thing I need to do is lie, but they wouldn't ever let the subject drop if they ever knew what's going on.

"Bella Swan, move to the front. Now." I quickly looked up at an exasperated and tried not to look too relieved as I gathered my things and trudged to the front of the classroom, ignoring the pointed looks coming from Rose and Alice.

I managed to evade the girls for the rest of the day, and all afternoon was spent dodging their calls. Carlisle was telling us on how his team was gathering evidence to bring to court. Charlie was pleased, to say the least.

I yawned for what had to be the third time in a five-minute span. My eyes began to water, and I had to resist the urge to get some shut-eye. I heard Edward sigh exasperatedly and rolled my eyes, Today was the last day of tutoring, considering the exams started tomorrow morning.

"Did you go over the biology guide that I made you?" I nodded sleepily.

"And the assessment test?" He prodded. Under normal circumstances I would be thrilled to have him chat me up, but I just wanted sleep. Edward's tutoring was brutal, but I know it was taking a toll on him as well. He dark circles around his eyes and tended to be more cranky than usual. I rummaged through my backpack until I found the assessment test he had made for me. It covered all the subjects, and were full of questions he predicted to be on the test. I handed the test to him silently and waited and he corrected it.

"You should be fine, you got most of the questions right." He said, nonchalantly flipping through the pages of the test. I cracked a smile in relief...maybe there was some hope for me, after all.

Edward put the test down and gave me a dazzling smile. My heart began to flutter, and for a moment I cursed that handsome face of his.

"Wh-what?" I asked, uneasy.

"Two weeks ago you didn't even know freshman math. Now you can potentially get into the Top Fifty. Do you know what that means?" I shook my head in confusion.

"I have just achieved a _miracle_." He yawned and rubbed at his green eyes in exhaustion.

"Don't stay up late studying and go to bed early, you need all the rest you can get." He sounded oddly like a doctor, but I wasn't going to question it. I put off the test-jitters as I thought of what a full night's sleep would do to me.

The next morning went by surprisingly smoothly. I didn't oversleep, I didn't lose anything, and I didn't have to run out to the bus stop. I was still jostled around on the packed bus, but that couldn't be helped. I grew constantly worried of a middle-aged man with greasy brown hair that rode in with the morning commute. He would stare inappropriately, and often stand too close for comfort. He gave the creeps, but he hadn't tried anything with me.

Edward and I walked into the school like we always did: with a designated 8-foot gap between us. He still pretended that we didn't know each other at all. As he walked into his homeroom, I felt a surge of gratitude towards him. Although I had blackmailed him into tutoring me, he actually put some effort into teaching me.

"Thanks." I mumbled, walked past him towards my classroom.

"Good luck." He murmured, looking over his shoulder at me briefly. A silly smile spread over my face. Edward Cullen just said something nice to me.


End file.
